Precious Angel (Alpha Province #4)(39)

Kenzie smiled. "There isn't a wicked bone in your body, Emmy."

Emmy grinned and shrugged as she hurried out.

Kenzie sank back into the sofa tiredly as she finished her wine and then  stood to head toward the ladies' room. She'd just exited the office and  turned toward the back entrance to the hotel when she saw an Asian man  heading toward her. Fear skated up her spine, but she kept moving,  hoping her trembling legs didn't give out on her. She glanced at the man  as he passed her but other than briefly gazing at her, he ignored her.  As soon as she was in the women's bathroom, she sighed with relief. She  hated that she was suspicious of everyone, but after what she'd  experienced and heard, she couldn't seem to help herself.

After doing her business, she stood at the sink to wash her hands and  then turned toward the door. She'd just gripped the door handle and was  turning it when the door burst open. Pain exploded in her head when the  edge of the door hit her right in the middle of the forehead and while  she tried to remain standing and conscious, she was fighting a losing  battle.

Her knees buckled, darkness invaded before she even hit the floor.





"Did you deal with the fuckers who set off the firecracker?" Jay asked Brooks as soon as he entered the kitchen.

"Yeah." Brooks rubbed the back of his neck. "The stupid bastard did it  on a dare. Needless to say, he and his friends have been kicked to the  curb."

"That's the least they deserve," Jordan said. "They could have taken someone's eye out or started a fire."

Brooks nodded. "If Declan hadn't seen what they were doing after coming  back from talking with you three and acted so fast, things could've  ended differently. The carpet was already starting to smolder.  Thankfully, there are water jugs on all the tables and he was able to  douse it before it took hold." He glanced about before meeting each of  their gazes before staring into Jay's eyes again. "We've stopped taking  more food orders. You can start clearing up once you finished the last  meals you need to get out.

"Where's Kenzie?"

"She's in the office with Emmy."

Declan's gut knotted when Brooks shook his head. "Emmy's back working  behind the bar. Kenzie's probably finishing her glass of wine."

"She ordered wine?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, you three did a number on her with all your sniping."

"Shit!" Jenson sighed.

"If I were you, I'd get down on my knees and ask for forgiveness. I  don't know why you were all behaving like idiots and I don't want to  know, but you need to apologize to your mate. You really upset her."                       
       
           



       

"We will," Jay stated emphatically.

Brooks sniffed the air and frowned.

"What is it?" Jordan asked.

Jay waited for the polar bear's reply with bated breath. He didn't like  the feeling in his gut. He tried to feel Kenzie through their mating  bond, but he couldn't feel anything. He wondered if she'd somehow  managed to block them out so they couldn't feel how upset she was with  them.

"I hate having the restrooms down this hall, there are so many scents  it's hard to sort them out. I was sure I got a whiff of gunpowder, but  after that firecracker going off it's not a surprise. Maybe I've got the  stench stuck in my nose."

"Maybe," Jay murmured distractedly. The knot of anxiety was getting  bigger and his panther was shoving against his insides trying to get  free. He was only vaguely aware of Brooks leaving, and while he tried to  concentrate on what he was doing, he couldn't.

Jay dropped what he was doing and hurried toward the office. He began to  tremble when he found it empty. He spied the empty wine glass on the  small coffee table next to the sofa. After inhaling deeply, he followed  Kenzie's aroma down the hall and stopped outside the women's restroom.  He leaned against the wall as he waited for his mate to come out, but  began to get concerned as the minutes passed. He sniffed the air again  and growled when he smelled an unknown male, as well as the slightest  hint of gunpowder and blood.

The hackles on the back of his neck rose and he pushed the bathroom door  open. When he smelled Kenzie's blood, he almost roared with fury and  fear but quickly swallowed and staved off the urge.

The bathroom was empty.

His mate was missing.





Foreign voices penetrated the fog shrouding Kenzie. Her head was  throbbing like a bitch and while she wanted to lift her hand to touch  it, to see if she was bleeding, she remained still.

Keeping her breathing and heart rate at a normal level was difficult but  she concentrated on breathing in and out at a regular pace. Fear raced  up her spine, and if she hadn't been regulating her breathing she  probably would have started panting.

Whatever was going on, she realized she was in deep shit. She remembered  being hit in the head by the bathroom door and after that, it had been  lights out. She was out in the open because the air was cold, probably  well below zero, and yet she could feel heat emanating from a fire.  Goose bumps raced over her skin and she shivered, despite trying to  quell the urge.

Kenzie tried to push the hammering pain going on behind her skull to the  back of her mind and concentrate on those voices, so she could work out  what was being said. It took her a few moments to realize the men  weren't speaking English, but what sounded like an Asian language.

Another shudder shook her body when terror permeated her heart and soul.  She didn't need to open her eyes to know who had her. Sadness and fear  warred inside her. It was very hard to keep her tears at bay.

Kenzie wondered if she'd ever see her mates again.





Chapter Eighteen




"What the fuck do you mean she's missing?" Jordan shouted.

"Calm down, Jordan." Declan squeezed his shoulder. "We don't want any of  the humans to know something's wrong, or sticking their noses in where  they don't belong."

Jordan shrugged Declan's hand away, hurried around the polar bear  shifter and down the hall toward the rear exit. As soon as he stepped  out into the cold, frigid air, his heart clenched with fear. Kenzie was  out there somewhere without a coat to keep her warm. Even though she had  some of their DNA coursing through her body, he wasn't sure it would be  enough to keep her from getting hypothermia.

He didn't even bother checking to make sure the coast was clear as he  started stripping out of his clothes. Jordan didn't give a fuck if  someone who shouldn't, saw him shifting. All he cared about was finding  his mate and getting her back. The others came out after him, but he  ignored them and called to his panther. Moments later he was in his  feline form and racing across the parking lot following his mate's  scent.

Her orange and peach perfume was mixed with other strange aromas, as  well as exhaust fumes, but thankfully her fragrance was easy enough to  follow.

When he found his mate and the men who'd taken her, he was going to rip  them to shreds, tear their guts out and relish the violence.





Jenson had never been so scared in his life. He had to blink back tears  and take a breath to get a hold on his emotions. He nearly sagged with  relief when he stepped out the back door after Jordan and saw that most  of the men living in Ambrose were there to help.

The more the better since they had no idea what they were up against. If  the fuckers who had their mate were who he suspected, then they  probably had enough fire power to take down the whole town. Yet, there  was no way they were going to win.                       
       
           



       

Jenson had no qualms about putting himself in front of his mate to stop  any bullets that might be sent her way. He just hoped that they were in  time to save her.

He pushed his fear aside and drew on his Marine training. It wasn't time  to let emotions or fear take hold. Now was the time to become the cold,  heartless killing machine he'd been trained to be.

He, his brothers, and the other shifters in town were on a mission, one they would win.

Losing wasn't an option.





Kenzie almost stopped breathing when she heard footsteps getting closer  and closer. She wasn't sure her game of possum was going to work because  she was getting colder with every minute that passed. She was lying on  the ground in the ice and snow with no added protection and the tremors  inside were starting to show on the outside.

"Open your eyes, slut. I know you're awake."

She took a fortifying breath and opened her eyes. When she saw the small  Asian man standing over her she almost laughed but quashed the urge at  the last second. He wasn't any bigger than she was, and he didn't look  as if he could hurt a fly, yet when she met his lifeless gaze, she  quickly changed her mind. He might not be able to physically harm her,  but he was holding a gun and it was pointed directly at her head.